Spearhead tag won't affect NCN: Johnson

Former Australia fast-bowler Mitchell Johnson has said fellow quick Nathan Coulter-Nile won’t be distracted by his new tag as leader of Australia’s pace attack at the World Twenty20 in India.

As the fastest bowler in Australia’s pace-brigade, Coulter-Nile has been touted as the spearhead of a bowling attack missing out-and-out speedsters Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson.

No stranger to sending down thunderbolts himself, Johnson has endorsed Coulter-Nile to be a major weapon for Australia on the subcontinent.

“There’s been some talk that Nathan Coulter-Nile is now the leader of this pace attack but I don’t think he’ll look at it that way,” Johnson wrote in a column for FoxSports. “He’ll just be focusing on playing the cricket that works best for him.”

“I think the conditions will actually be suited to his style of bowling. He’s a good ‘finisher’, he can start well with the new ball and he can swing it throughout the innings.”

“Now, rather than worrying about being the leader of the attack, he just needs to go out there and bowl fast and aggressive - then he’ll be able to lead by example.”

After New Zealand’s three spinners turned the ball square in the Kiwis upset win over India in Nagpur, some may be questioning the importance of fast-bowlers at this tournament.

While Johnson, who retired from international cricket in November, concedes that conditions may not necessarily favour the pacemen, he insists they are nonetheless a vital aspect of a successful bowling attack on the subcontinent.

The former tearaway, true to form, also stressed fast-bowlers shouldn’t shy away from bowling bouncers as a way of mixing up a batsmen’s footwork.

“It’s no surprise that most pitches at the tournament are going to favour the spinners, but I still think our pace bowlers have a crucial role to play in India,” he wrote.

“You’ve really got to nail your yorkers, having a good change of pace is important over there, and I also think the short ball shouldn’t be forgotten.

“It’s still a useful weapon in Twenty20 cricket, because you don’t want the batsman knowing that every ball is going to be full.”

Meanwhile, Johnson has criticised India’s approach to the World T20, after batsman Virat Kohli said his side are “favourites in our own minds” to win the tournament ahead of their defeat to the Black Caps.

With the hopes of a billion expectant fans already weighing on India, Johnson, a key member of last year’s ODI World Cup-winning team, suggested Kohli’s comments will only heap extra pressure on the home-nation.

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“From our experience playing in the one-day World Cup at home last year, we just wanted to enjoy every moment and saviour the experience but we still tried to take the focus off ourselves, rather than adding to it,” he wrote.

“Going into a big tournament like that, there’s pressure on every team. Putting even more pressure on your side is just setting yourself up for disaster.

“When you start tagging your own team as favourites, that’s when alarm bells should start going off.

“Now (India) have lost their first game and there will be all sorts of pressure for their next match, which is against Pakistan.

“As a cricketer you don’t want to be too confident – you want to have self-belief but coming out and saying it in the media and then not being able to back it up isn’t a great look.”